Musings of a modern day Stoic...
This is a daily journal on life, the Universe and everything from a practicing Stoic woman's perspective.

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Monday, September 26, 2011

The Proof of the Pudding is in the Tasting

Today's reading is one from Epictetus that talks about how it doesn't matter how lofty and noble your intentions are as to how you live your life, it is how you actually live your life.

It is like the famous Sondheim broadway tune... "Children will Listen". Be careful what you say and do as you always have an audience. Our challenge as humans is to know ourselves warts and all, do our best to correct our faults, but, above all else, to be honest with ourselves. Honesty with ourselves is a very difficult task. As humans we tend to forget details that cause us shame, details that show us in a less than flattering light. This habit is where the adage, there's their truth and your truth and somewhere in the middle is the actual Truth, comes from. We are programmed to try to remember ourselves in the best light possible (Hedonic adaptation). Unfortunately, we need to remember when we fail as those are the moments that we can learn the most from. The learning moments are when we fail to live up to our own image of ourselves. This is where the practise of journalling is an amazing aid for building strength of character. We need to try to be honest with ourselves in our private journals. Only then can we have a true reckoning of all of our flaws and work towards erasing them.

We are "only human" after all. If we are trying to be our best selves, working towards the goal of becoming a Sage, this is the mirror that reflects all of our actions, both good and bad. I am working on journalling more and actively being conscious of my decisions and actions on a moment to moment basis.